List of television shows considered the worst
A number of television shows, both regular series and one-off specials from around the world, have been judged to be among the worst to have ever been produced. Factors that can reflect poorly on a television series include inherently poor quality, the lack of a budget, rapid cancellation, very low viewership, offensive content, and/or negative impact on other series on the same channel. In some cases, a show that is acceptable on its own merits can be put in a position where it does not belong and be judged "worst ever." Multiple outlets have produced lists ranking the worst television series and most spectacular television flops in history, including the U.S. publications TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly, the British Mail Online and Jeff Evans's The Penguin TV Companion; in many cases, these lists were partially slanted toward recent memory. TV Guide, for example, published two lists, one in 2002 and another in 2010, each of which had contemporary shows near the top of the list; The Jerry Springer Show and the XFL in the top three of the 2002 list, while The Jay Leno Show topped, and in fact inspired, the 2010 list and the XFL had fallen nearly 20 spots. The following is a list of television series considered the worst by published professional critics, network executives, and/or through viewer rejection (extreme low viewership despite high promotion). Because situation comedy shows make up a disproportionately large number of shows judged in this manner, they are listed in a separate list of sitcoms considered the worst. Live-action children's shows ; Barney & Friends : The long-running show featuring a saccharine purple dinosaur as the title character was listed at number 50 on TV Guide's 2002 list of worst TV series. In addition to straightforward criticism of the title character's incessant cheerfulness39 and occasional bad influences on the children in the series, the series has triggered a strong revulsion among people older than its target preschool demographic. The show has been the target of a barrage of often-vicious and dark anti-Barney humor since its debut. W. J. T. Mitchell, a University of Chicago professor who devoted a chapter of his book The Dinosaur Book to the anti-Barney phenomenon, noted: "Barney is on the receiving end of more hostility than just about any other popular cultural icon I can think of. Parents admit to a cordial dislike of the saccharine saurian, and no self-respecting second-grader will admit to liking Barney." ; Minipops : This Channel 4 show featured young children singing then-contemporary pop music. The children were usually dressed to look like the original performers, including the clothing and make-up. The show made many adult viewers uncomfortable because it often showed the child singers dressing and dancing in imitation of the provocative styles of the original adult performers. One performance by Joanna Fisher, in which she sang the Sheena Easton song "9 to 5", caused national outrage when Fisher, then eight years old, sang the lines: "Night time is the right time/We make love". The show's creators and child cast were somewhat shocked at the response to the program and its misinterpretation. Despite the show's popularity, the resulting controversy caused Minipops to be cancelled shortly afterwards.41 It was voted the second-worst UK show by TV critics. See also * List of television series canceled after one episode * List of television series canceled before airing an episode Television series Worst Category:Criticism of television series